Warriors tickets ‘sold out’
By: Andre E Baptiste (Newsday).[/size]
Eight Percent of the capacity of each World Cup Football venue in Germany is reserved for the fans of the competing teams through their respective official supporters’ associations. This though is where the facts are interesting, according to FIFA. For Category 1 matches in the opening round, the cost is 100 euros (US$120), Category 2 is 60 euros (US$72), Category 3 tickets cost 45 euros (US$54) and Category 4 costs 35 euros (US$47). Ticketcity.com is the leading supplier of all World Cup tickets including Follow My Team tickets, England World Cup Tickets, Germany World Cup Tickets, Brazil World Cup tickets, and all other participating World Cup countries. But a view of their website show different pricing.
For Trinidad and Tobago’s first match against Sweden, a Category 1 ticket is listed at US$450, there is a “Sold Out” sign for Category Two tickets and the joint price for Category 3 and 4 tickets is US $395. Trinidad and Tobago’s second match against England on Thursday, June 15 in Nuremberg , has a whopping US$1,495 for Category 1 tickets, but yet again Category 2 tickets have a “Sold Out” sign , and Category 3 and 4 are priced at US$995. The final group one match is against Paraguay in Kaiserlautern, with Category 1 tickets listed at US$235 , no Category 2 tickets are available and Category 3 and Category 4 tickets are priced at US$195. A review of all ticket prices in the opening rounds, place the Trinidad and Tobago England match as the fifth most expensive match to view from Category 1 . At the head of the pack is the Japan versus Brazil encounter at a cost of US$2,595, followed by Sweden versus England at US$2,150. Next is Australia versus Japan at US$1,995, with the fourth expensive match being Croatia versus Japan at US$1,895.
For those with cellphones, it is important to know that Germany employs the GSM 900/1800 cell/mobile phone standard. Mobile/ cell phone carriers from the rest of Europe as well as Australasia, Africa, parts of Asia (with the exception of Japan) and the Pacific Rim also use this standard so visitors to the 2006 World Cup in Germany with mobile/cell phones from these countries will be able to use their mobile phones to make calls within Germany and to these countries. Most German mobile phone numbers begin with 017 or 016. Germany’s international dialing code is +49. No cell phone carriers from the USA and Canada operate on the GSM 900/1800 mobile phone standard so visitors from North America will need to rent a GSM 900/1800/1900 (international) mobile phone to be able to make calls within Europe and to North America during the 2006 German World Cup.
Satellite phones can also be rented for making mobile international calls. Cellhire is a leading international cellular phone rental provider which has provided mobile GSM phone rental for the 2004 European Championships in Portugal, the FIFA World Cups in France in 1998 and Japan/Korea in 2002 and the Tour de France. Cellhire provides both an international GSM mobile phone rental and global satellite phone rental service. GSM cellular providers in South America, Central America and the Caribbean use multiple standards so please check with your carrier regarding your coverage and rent an international cell phone if appropriate. Mobile phones using a prepaid card are available from the two big German mobile phone companies: T-Online and Debitel.That it should it be the job of this newspaper or the work of the sleeping Local Organising Committee for Germany 2006, and the fact that it is Christmas is no excuse. When you have a job, it must be performed otherwise it does not make any sense to be employed.
Tension, anxiety over tickets.
By: Andre E Baptiste (Newsday).[/size]
With just under six months to the start of Trinidad and Tobago’s opening match in the World Cup against Sweden in Dortmund (known as the Beer Capital of Germany), already there is a lot of tension and anxiety in this country. In most instances the vagaries of misinformation over the availability of tickets from both the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation and their offspring, the Local Organising Committee for Germany, have instead of restoring confidence in the entire process, caused more withdrawal symptoms among many potential ticket purchasers. While nobody in football in this country is man enough to disclose numbers, another newcomer to the World Cup, Australia are not silent. Football Federation Australia (FFA) recently said it is expecting an overwhelming response from local supporters to the release of World Cup tickets.
FFA is selling about 8,500 tickets for Soccers’ three pool matches in Germany next year through its website. Tens of thousands of people have downloaded the application form and are expected to apply for the tickets. FFA spokesman Stuart Hodge said many football supporters would miss out on tickets due to the limited allocation. “We expect that demand will far exceed supply, so we urge people to get in early,” he said. “We are expecting that we will receive a huge amount of applications.” Hodge said many travel operators were selling World Cup packages without guaranteeing tickets to matches. This though is very similar to what we are being told in this country, with only one travel agent authorised to deal with the matter..
The last tranche of World Cup tickets to go on sale to the general public are already more than four times over-subscribed, FIFA’s organising committee has said. There are 250,000 tickets on offer in the third and final major sales period, that closes on January 15. Following is the ticket phasing according to FIFA; First Phase: February 1, 2005— March 31; Second Phase: May 1, 2005— November 15, 2005; Third Phase: December 1, 2005 — January 15, 2006 (If tickets remain available after the first and second phases); Fourth Phase: February 1, 2006 — April 15 2006; Fifth Phase: (Final sales period): May 1, 2006 — 9 July 2006. The Second Sales Period runs from December 1, 2005 to January 15, 2006 again on a lottery basis. A tiny microchip on the ticket containing access information, but not personal data, will guard against forgeries.
Ticket Prices and Categories All prices are in euros. Altogether there will be 3.2 million tickets available for the 64 matches (minus seats for VIP guests and the media), four categories (rather than the three ticket categories for World Cup 2002) and prices ranging from Ç35 to Ç600 available from the organisers at fifaworldcup.com. Category 1 seats are in general located along the sides of the pitch. Category 2 seats are in general located next to Category 1. Category 3 seats are in general located behind the goals or on the corners. Category 4 seats are in general located behind the goals or on the corners. You can also join your country’s official supporters’ association in the hope of getting tickets through that channel but priority is usually given to long-term members who have followed their national team at home and/or overseas.
